WHAT will some key trends of
2013 be? Where is technology heading? What can end users and installers
expect from the next 12 months and what might the trends of the next
year tell us about the medium term future of the networked electronic
security industry? For a start, they suggest it’s still a hybrid industry when it
comes to video surveillance. A number of the leading camera
manufacturers have released new analogue offerings recently. We’re meant
to meet the pivot point for IP video in 2013 but the market is an oddly
diverse beast.
Servers
at the edge. Yes – those microSD slots on IP cameras can now be loaded
with 128GB chips costing around $200 and chip prices are likely to fall
by 25 per cent through 2013. When you consider the cost of rack-mount
servers, edge storage becomes an appealing option.
Touch
screen alarm interfaces. Almost every manufacturer has one and in some
cases they cost less than $100. Installers not upselling touch screens
to end users simply aren’t trying hard enough.
Remote
management apps for authorised users. This is the year of remote
management apps. Needless to say, it’s important for end users to bear
in mind that apps are not always secure. Authorised mobile devices
should be armoured using appropriate security solutions that encrypt
passwords and allow remote wipe.
It’s
not just alarm systems that are being managed in this way. Video
surveillance solutions are integrating mobile devices into their fabric.
Yeah, that’s right. Unsecured smart phones linked to blue tooth, WiFi
and public internet are now devices and managers on your CCTV subnet.
Sure, it’s cool but security must come before utility.
In
2013 you’re going to hear a lot of talk about cloud. As I point out
about 80 times in this issue, cloud is a software or hardware service
delivered over a network so a lot of you are more familiar with cloud
than you think. But there are different patterns of cloud.
Something
to be interested in too, is the way cloud is taking on a proprietary
air. This is both an opportunity for manufacturers and integrators who
can steer users towards a provider with which they have a commercial
alliance, and a pain for end users who will start wondering just how
open their open systems really are.
And
there’s some new weird about mobile comms. Last month the U.S.
Government egged on by Verizon and AT&T made it an offence under the
Digital Millenium Copyright Act to open a subsidised mobile device to
another carrier. Yeah. Once you’re in, you’re in.
The
penalties are spectacular in their moral inconsistency - a $500,000
fine and 5 years gaol for the first offence. These rules don’t apply in
Australia yet but we are in lockstep with the U.S. elsewhere so make
sure you insist on open comms mobile devices if you think you need them.
Better
video compression. H.265 HVEC has been approved but while you might not
see a 4K device until year’s end, you’re going to hear more and more
about 8MP at 30 frames per second thanks to H.265. There’s blue sky over
H.265 with good cause. It will save money on storage, expand edge
options, improve resolution, reduce network load, possibly all at the
same time.
Simplification
of installations. Installing IP systems is tricky so for the past 5
years manufacturers have been furiously simplifying the processes
required to get a device onto a network. Don’t expect plug and play but
do expect IP-based installs to get easier.
Price
falls in high end alarm sensors. I think we’ll see some price falls in
high end alarm sensors. We have 3 brilliant manufacturers competing at
the very high end including Optex, Risco’s Rokonet and Aritech. Take a
look at them.
Chinese
and Taiwanese manufacturers. We’ll see more and better product from
these companies and the competition generated between them and the
traditional players will continue to present integrators and end users
with brilliant product at great prices.
Source - http://www.securityelectronicsandnetworks.com/NewsDetail/13-02-09/trends_in_the_electronic_security_industry_in_2013.aspx
